Whole30 Days 24-26: Steak is the new pizza.

Whole30 / Sunday, April 6th, 2014

porterhouse-1

No sugars or grains. No dairy or legumes. Yep, I’m doing the Whole30 for the next 30 days. Here’s how it’s going: 

Weekends on the Whole30 can be tough, especially on Friday nights, when you just want to order a pizza and watch Hannibal, as God intended. Before I started this, I was setting aside a cheat day (usually Friday or Saturday) for things like hot chicken, biscuits, cheeseburgers and (small) chocolate malts, so when the weekend rolls around, my Inner Child can be a real turd.

She doesn’t wannnnnt to sauté vegetables for breakfast again. She doesn’t wannnnnt another salad. Or steamed anything. Or another freaking sweet potato.

So I finally got the bright idea to plan ahead for these weekends and make sure I’m having something that feels good n’ dirty. Like steak. We’ve never been weekly steak people (too pricey), but with the money we’re saving by not getting weekend takeout (or buying any of the Forbidden Foods), why not? Cookouts are fun. 

I’ve also stumbled on to the fact that some restaurants have “hidden” Paleo menus. (Google it.) On Saturday, we needed to grab something on the way to the movies, so I asked the cashier at Panera about their hidden Power menu and tried the Power Mediterranean Chicken Salad, a substantial bowl (thank God) with chicken, baby spinach, romaine, tomato, bacon and hard-boiled eggs, plus you get half a lemon and a packet of extra-virgin olive oil to make your own dressing.

My Inner Child was cool with it, since she didn’t have to make it. What a brat.

What I Ate:

Note: Breakfast is always two eggs with sautéed onions, bell pepper strips and mushrooms, plus a banana or an apple.

Day 24

  • Lunch: Salad with chicken, toasted pecans, dried cranberries, mixed greens and homemade raspberry vinaigrette
  • Dinner: Grilled steak, baked sweet potato and steamed green beans

Day 25

  • Lunch: Panera’s Power Mediterranean Chicken Salad with chicken, baby spinach, romaine, tomato, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil
  • Snack: Apple with almond butter
  • Dinner: Pulled pork with a baked sweet potato

Day 26

  • Lunch: Pulled pork with a baked sweet potato
  • Snack: Apple with almond butter
  • Dinner: Easy Roast Chicken, sautéed mushrooms and a small salad

[ad name=”space”]